Foreign Relations: Seti and Ramesses II's Ramesside Imperialism

Question 1

19th Dynasty

Context

Seti I

Answer 1

• Succeeded Rammesses I
• Appears to have shared a co-regency with Ramesses I during his father’s reign

Historian perspective (Donald B. Redford): Seti’s use of epithets “Repeater of Births” and “renewing Appearances” links the phenomenon of the rising of the star Sirius on the first day of the Egyptian calendar year to the beginning of his reign, an astronomical event happening once every 1460 years → Seti emphasises his reign as signalling a new era for Egypt (political propaganda)

Overview of Seti I’s role

• Military: re-established Egyptian influence in Palestine and parts of Syria, on return presenting himself as a successful warrior pharaoh and providing booty to the Amen temple. Attempted to emulate the military success in the north of Thutmose III
• Religion: actively pursued a building program that honoured the major gods of Egypt. Elevated Ramesses I (his father) to level of a god
• Political: used prenomen “Bringer of Renewal” to emphasise that his reign was a new beginning for Egypt. Linked himself to previous pharaohs by inscribing the “List of Kings” at Abydos.

Question 2

Military: First Campaign

Seti I

Answer 2

• Captured the desert wells on his way to Gaza
• Led army north into Palestine: fought the Shasu Bedouins: “His Majesty marched against them like a fierce-eyed lion. Making them carcasses in their valleys, overturned in their own blood” (Karnak temple)
• Led army into Canaan: Relieved Beth-Shan and Rehob, previously under Egyptian control, from attack by Hamath and Pella; then moved to coastline, secured coastline
• Led army into Jordan: Punished Pella for attacking Beth-Shan
• Set up a victory stela at Tell esh-Shihab, depicting Seti worshipping Amen and Mut
• Returned in triumph to Egypt, taking “living captives … the great Chiefs of Retennu” (Scenes 6 and 7, Karnak)

1st in the Levant

To Gaza: captured desert wells
Palestine: fought Shasu Bedouins and won
Canaan: relieved Beth-Shan and Rehob from attack by Hamath and Pella, then secured the coastline
Jordan: punished Pella for attacking Beth-Shan
Tel esh-Shihab: victory stela showing Seti worshipping Amun and Mut, the king and queen of heaven

Question 3

Military: Second Campaign

Seti I

Answer 3

• Launched a campaign to repulse Libyans infiltrating the West Delta regions
• Scenes 12-15 at Karnak: traditional battle scenes, captives, booty of silver, gold, lapis lazuli, malachite being presented to Amun

2nd against Libyans in the West Delta

Question 4

Military: Third Campaign

Seti I

Answer 4

• Attack on the northern Asiatic town of Kadesh and the “land of the Amurru”
• Scene 11: celebrates this campaign and is partly copied from a simile stele of Amenhotep III and Thutmose III’s “Hymn of Victory” → Seti is emphasising his link to his warrior pharaoh “ancestors”

3rd against Kadesh and the land of the Amurru

Question 5

Military: Fourth Campaign

Seti I

Answer 5

• Against Hittites north of Kadesh
• Egypt claimed part of northern Syria: Qatna and Tunip
• Hittite king Muwatallish may have made a peace treaty, but it is unclear where the demarcation line between Seti and Muwatallish lay
• Karnak reliefs 17-20 celebrate this campaign

4th against Hittites

Question 6

Military: Fifth Campaign

Seti I

Answer 6

• Against Nubia
• Reliefs in a desert temple north of Edfu: Seti celebrates dominance of the south by being presented with a sword by Amen and smiting a group of Nubians
• “Take the sword, O Mighty King, Horus of the Bows, in order to overthrow the chiefs of TUSH, the wretched, in order to cut off their heads” (Inscription of Redesiyeh)

5th against Nubia

Question 7

Building Program

Seti I

Answer 7

Temple of Amen at Karnak

• Built a major part of the Hypostyle Hall
• Placed war reliefs on the walls
• “Seti made it as his monument for his father, Amen-Re … making for him a great and splendid temple of fine sandstone.” → main decorative focus was to emphasise his close link to Amen, who was responsible for his military victories and benefited from the booty
• Breasted on the Karnak reliefs: evidence of the erasure of an earlier figure (possibly Seti I’s oldest son) and the insertion of Ramesses II into the scene.

Mortuary Temple at Qurna, Thebes

• Named temple “Temple of the Spirit of Seti in the House of Amen”
• Made it “as his monument for his father, Osiris, Ramesses I”

Temple of Seti at Abydos

• Sacred to all the gods of Egypt → linking Seti to the earlier dynasties of Egypt
• Abydos = ancient cult centre of Osiris
• The Osireion: a building ;ocated behind the Abydos temple, surrounded by water to create an artificial island → represents the primeval mound that began creation, or links to the Osirian legend? Decorated with scenes of the journey through the underworld

Temple at Elephantine

• Decorated with reliefs of Seti presenting goods to Amen and Khnum

Heliopolis

• Later inscription of Ramesses II stated that Seti “filled Heliopolis with obelisks”

Restorations → link this to post-Amarna reforms!

• Restored damage in some temples made during the Amarna era, particularly where the name of Amen had been vandalised
• E.g. Amenhotep III’s temple at El Kab and obelisks of Hatshepsut

Question 8

Administration

Seti I

Answer 8

• Headed an extensive bureaucracy
• Administrative capital = Memphis
• Palace at Qantir → close to main route to Asiatic lands = trade
• Inscriptions from Year 9 cut into a rock near Edfu indicate goldmining at Wadi Mia
• “‘The future generations will glorify me because of my strength and because I am kind-hearted towards travellers.’ After speaking these words, His Majesty searched the mountains for a place to make a watering place. The god led him to the spot to grant his request. The place was built in the great name of Seti and became full of a great quantity of water.” → RSPECTM: social and religion
• “His Majesty … increased the rations to the army in ointment, meat, fish and many vegetables without limit. …Thus they worked with a loving heart for His Majesty.” → RSPECTM: social

Benevolent in administration: Edfu inscription and the other one about the army rations
Headed an extensive bureaucracy (needs link to officials)
Promoted trade with the Asiatic lands, as his palace was located at Qantir, near the main route to the Asiatic lands

Question 9

Religion

Seti I

Answer 9

• Attributed his military success to Amen-Re of Thebes
• Focus of reliefs at Karnak is Seti’s military success and presentation of booty to Amen
• Refers to Amen-Re as his “father” in temple inscriptions
• Did not elevate Amen to the supreme position previously held in the 18th Dynasty
• Seti equally honoured other established gods: “All the gods of Egypt” (Buhen temple)
• Linked himself closely to all manifestations of the sun-god → decorated the obelisk (now in Rome) with Re, Re-Atum-Khepri, Re-Harakhte
• Mortuary temple: depicted usual mortuary gods Anubis, Horus, Isis, Nepthys, Osiris, as well as other gods like Selket, Thoth, Hathor, Maat
• Unusual aspect of reign: emphasised his father as a god → justified his family’s establishment of a new dynasty

Question 10

Context

Ramesses II

Answer 10

• Succeeded Seti I
• Pursued Seti’s religious policy
• Summed up his titltes and accomplishments as pharaoh in the “Hymn to Ramesses”
• Also idolised Thutmose III

Early career

• Aswan rock stela: Ramesses supervised the quarry of stone obelisks during Seti I’s (his father’s) reign

Historian perspectives

• “If the greatness of an Egyptian pharaoh be measured by the size and number of the monuments remaining to perpetrate his memory, Seti’s son and successor, Ramesses II would have to be judged the equal, or even the superior, of the produest pyramid-builders.” (A. Gardiner)
• “Ramesses II [had] a more enduring and stable relam than any of his contemporaries.” (K.A. Kitchen)

Question 11

Religion

Ramesses II

Answer 11

• Existing temples were maintained over the empire and new ones erected in Per-Ramesses
• Abu Simbel: promoted himself equally with the gods

Polytheism

• Ptah of Memphis was honoured, as in Seti’s reign (continuity) with a temple to him at Memphis
• Abydos temple was dedicated to Osiris
• The Ramesseum and other temples were dedicated to Min, Thoth, Khonsu, Hathor and Nekhbet
• Even foreign gods such as Baal (Canaanite god) and Astarte (Phonecian goddess) had shrines in Memphis

Amen

• Ramesses II attended Amen’s great Feast of Opet in Thebes
• The main shrine in the Ramesseum was dedicated to Amen
• Letter written by Chief of the Treasury, Panhesy, to a priest of Amun at Thebes, concerning the holdings of Amen in the Delta region: “I have collected the goods due to the treasury, a wealth of silver, gold, copper, clothing…”

Continuity

• Continued the religious policy established by his father and grandfather, promoting the gods of Egypt’s great cities
• Ramesses II copied his hero Amenhotep III by promoting himself as a god of Egypt and Nubia

Question 12

Building Program

Ramesses II

Answer 12

Per-Ramesses (new capital)

• Location in the Delta facilitated communications between Egypt and the north
• “In its west is the Temple of Amen, in its South is the Temple of Seth, Astarte appears in its east and Uto in its North” → promotion of polytheism

Karnak

• finished the Hypostyle Hall

Luxor

• Added a front pylon, virtually claiming that the Luxor temple was his own

Abydos

• Battle scenes of Kadesh, including Aleppo being hung upside down to drain water from him after being rescued from the Orontes River

Ramesseum at Thebes

• Temple for the worship of his mother Tuya and wife Nefertari
• Northern tower depicts the Egyptian army marching, as well as a seated Ramesses conversing with northern princes and a row of captured spies being beaten for information
• Southern tower depicts the Battle of Kadesh, featuring Ramesses in his chariot, trampling dead enemies, and Hittites retreating

Abu Simbel Temples (Nubia)

• Back shrine: figures of Ptah, Amun, Ramesses and Re-Harakhte

Question 13

Military

Ramesses II

Answer 13

Context

• Hittites had established control over much of Syria and Amurru
• Ramesses II’s main military aim was to maintain Egyptian control over the retjenu (Syria-Palestine) region

Campaigns in Syria-Palestine

• Successfully recaptured Amurru from the Hittites in year 4. This victory emboldened him to believe that he could win back all of the former Egyptian empire
• The Hittite king Muwatallis assembled a huge army to defend Kadesh and recover Amurru in retaliation, culminating in the Battle of Kadesh. Egypt recaptured Kadesh briefly, but it was soon returned to Hittite control again
• Year 10: launched a campaign in northern Syria, beseiging the town of Dapur. Egypt successfully captured it, but it reverted back to Hittite control soon after

Question 14

Administration

Ramesses II

Answer 14

Peace treaty

• Signed a peace treaty with the Hittites in Year 21
• Hittite king Khattushilish proposed an alliance, which Ramesses accepted. The Hittite proposal was stamped on a large silver plate and taken by envoys to Egypt. Two copies of the agreement were displayed in the Hypostyle Hall at karnak and another at the Ramesseum
• It guaranteed “good peace and good brotherhood between [Egypt and the Hittites] forever”
• Finally managed to form long-lasting peace between the Hittites and Egypt through diplomatic visits, correspondence, and Khattshilish sending two Hittite princesses to the Egyptian court for marriage (the second one in year 34, commemorated by inscriptions and reliefs)

Mining

• Imitating Seti I, he built a well to supply water on a long, dry road to the gold-mining area of Kuddan

Officials

• Chose many officials from the provinces, likely on a meritocratic system

Question 15

Battle of Kadesh

Ramesses II

Answer 15

• In Year 5, set out to recapture Kadesh from Hittite control
• Ambushed by Hittites, but according to The Bulletin, Ramesses II stirred his forces to action: “His majesty was like Seth, the destroyer, like Sekmhet [the lion goddess] in the moment of her rage”
• Hittites proposed a ceasefire, but soon regained control of Kadesh again
• Breasted: noted the absence of a comprehensive Hittite campaign narrative, with Hittite references to the battle appearing in the context of other events, specifically mentioning Hattusili III